Everyday Essentials #2

This is certainly not the most unique sort of post by any means — understatement of the year — but when I spot posts of this variety in my daily Bloglovin feed, I tend to salivate over them, hanging onto every word so it seemed prudent to give another one a go; if all goes well this may turn into one of those regular things. Thoughts?

John Freida Frizz-Ease Dream Curls Daily Styling Spray ($11 CDN):This is more of a recent addition to the daily routine as far as these things go but since giving this another go (a few weeks back) to refresh my curls after being slept on, this has become a daily product staple. At first it seemed to be a pear-scented spray that did nothing but wet the hair but since I’ve discovered that the wet sensation dissipates after a few minutes and without drying out my hair, it adds a good deal of life and definition back to my second third and fourth day curls.

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light to Medium Bisque ($30 CDN):Although this hasn’t received many raves from me since I discovered it in April, the pinky-toned creamy concealer has remained a firm love of mine. Without needing to be topped up with a more neutral concealer, the creamy-textured corrector neutralizes my dark circles like a champ, all without looking or feeling heavy on the skin.

Dior 5 Coleur Eyeshadow in Grege ($62 CDN):Although in the last month or so, this palette has proven itself as a daily compact palette that houses the shades for several versatile looks, it also lends itself extremely well to be used with other eyeshadows to provide high-quality basic shades. The caramel shade is one that I find myself constantly reaching for as a transition shade, the highlighting shade is a nice staples as is the rich matte chocolate brown. I really ought to dedicate a post to this quint soon as it’s so long overdue….

Avene High Protection Mineral Cream SPF 50 ($30 CDN):With the rapid emergence of the hot sunny days of summer in the past few weeks, sunscreen has become a must on a daily basis and considering that I’m allergic to most chemical sunscreens, I reach for this one. The cream is tinted to minimize the impact of the white-cast and hydrates my hypersensitive skin without causing any sort of reaction in the realm of irritation. By no stretch of the imagination is this greasy but I will admit that my face develops a bit more dewiness in my t-zone while wearing this but I’m satisfied with paying this price for a sunscreen that doesn’t irritate the skin with its alcohol content whilst never making the skin burn with its protection and never running into the eyes either.

MAC Eyeshadow Quad ($10 CDN) with All That Glitters, Coppering, Coquette and Sketch ($12 CDN):This self-created quad of shades houses my essentials, especially for this time of year and as usual, the quality of these shadows are fantastic and you can’t beat the versatility of creating your own palette. All That Glitters is that gorgeous peachy golden shade that has to be my favourite lid colour of all time (and most repurchased) so I can’t be without it obviously, the grey-brown Coquette remains my favourite shade for filling in my brows and it doubles as a great crease shade given its pigmentation and the workable texture, the deep plum Sketch serves its place as that almost-matte shade that adds definition to the outer corner of the eye while still being a little bit interesting and flattering and Coppering (obviously) has been a staple as of late for when I want to go for something a little more intense and warm than ATG either mixed or on its own.

L’Oreal Lineur Intense in Carbon Black ($9-10 CDN):I’m aware that I’ve raved about this affordable felt-tip liner more times than I can most likely count but its just the easiest effortless liner to use on a daily basis to create the subtle winged eyeliner in well under a minute. On top of this, the liner remains wet and pigmented for months and the felt tip remains precise. It lasts like a dream until you remove it but isn’t a hassle to remove either.

No 7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser ($12 CDN):This affordable offering ticks all of the boxes as the ideal cream cleanser for me. Although it does have some fragrance, (pleasant and luxurious-smelling, if you’re curious) the cleanser not only doesn’t irritate even the sorest skin in the slightest, it removes face makeup like a dream while leaving the skin soothed and nourished. I’m not sure if I like this more than the Cleansing Balm from the same line, but at the very least it is equally as good and the pump dispenser is increasingly practical for daily use. I’m not a fan of the included muslin cloth so I don’t use it exactly as advertised.

Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Creme Bronzer in Rich Bronze ($10-11 CDN):I mentioned picking up this shade of the affordable creamy bronzer recently in my last post and ever since doing so, I haven’t been able to resist putting this one down. It has the same blendable skin-like texture and longevity as the other shade in the formula does but the darker shade has much less obviously warm (orange-y) undertones and instead lends itself well to sculpting the cheekbones along with adding a bit of bronziness; it’s a dream to contour with because you can just swipe a stripe above the hollows of your cheek and blend it out with ease.